Nursery World - To the point: Make your voice count

As the Government rolls on with its plans to set education back by 30 years, consultation follows consultation.

But who is listening? When ministers decide to do something, they are required to consult, but it's an empty exercise because their minds are already made up.

They lost on ratios, not because they listened to the outcry from the sector or responses to the consultation, but because Nick Clegg broke ranks. It will be difficult for him to put a spanner in the works of the next outrageous plan as he was the one who announced the plan to test children in the three Rs on entry to reception.

But maybe this could be a chance for him to show that he really does listen to the experts, to professionals and to evidence. Or we can hope that the public debate can become so strong that it just can't be ignored. So - even though they have buried the consultation by launching it at the start of the summer break - it's up to us to make sure the arguments against tests for young children are heard loudly and clearly.

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